Durin's Heirs
by Aerobesk
Summary: Modern Day AU for thorintorout / The band Durin's Heirs have been on the downhill. With a terrible manager, a gruff, unfriendly lead singer, and no songwriter, nothing is looking up. But can songwriter Bilbo Baggins come in and save whats left of Thorin's band? T to be safe
1. Prolouge-ish

"What are we going to do Thorin?"

The dark haired man turned, not sure what to say. The whole of "Durin's Heirs" was behind him, once again looking for guidance. No doubt Gandalf was out at a bar again, drinking away his sorrows and leaving his band on their own.

The review had only come in about an hour ago, but the boys were already lost. They had no idea what to do after something like that had come out and practically ruined their chances of hitting another peak in their careers. It had been a while since "Lonely Mountain" had started to leave the top of the charts, and it had just been downhill from there.

And after Beorn had left, they just couldn't come up with any new material! Thorin had been mercilessly scouting for a new songwriter, but so far had had no luck.

"I suppose we should just keep looking," Thorin said, attempting to sound confident. He found himself having to do that a lot more lately.

"Hey Thorin!" a voice from the corridor shouted. Kili poked his head in. "Come have a look at this."

Thorin followed his nephew back downstairs to where his brother Fili was sitting. "We were having a look at this website, and look what came up."

On the screen was a picture of a man. Probably in his late twenties, with curly light-brown hair and deep brown eyes. A smile lit up the man's face. Underneath the picture was a link, and Thorin clicked it. A list of titles popped up, and he scrolled through. "Home is in the Distance", "Trapped by the Riddles in my Head", "Underneath my Oaken Shield" and many more. The lyrics weren't bad either.

"Well boys," Thorin said, turning around. "What do you think?"

The boys looked at each other and grinned. "I think we need to get tuned up!" Fili said.

* * *

Sighing, a young man walked into his empty city apartment and turned on the light. He set down the bag of fast food he'd gotten himself while out, and went to open the window, attempting to cool the place down a bit. His air conditioner had broken almost a month ago, but minimum wage can hardly pay for rent and food, let alone repair costs.

The room was slightly damp, with only a couch, an armchair, and a space heater. A beat up radio sat on the kitchen counter, along with about ten styrofoam boxes next to it. His table was covered in half written papers, so he sat on his armchair to eat.

The food was cold and slightly wet, despite the umbrella he had used on his walk back. The drops sped past the window still, and he just watched the rain through deep brown eyes as he ate the cold burger and drank his warm coke.

His brown curly hair was damp, but as soon as it dried it would be getting in his face, so as soon as he was finished eating, he stood and wrapped an elastic band around most of it. His bangs were the hardest to catch, and one curly stand bounced back over his eye as he walked to the table.

By the half-light of the flickering bulb above the sink, the man sat down. He pushed papers aside, half written lyrics he didn't have the care or inspiration for anymore. When he finally found a blank paper, he started to write. Of course he didn't write about his life. About the clogged toilet that maintenance wouldn't fix, about the second rate boss that enjoyed screaming at him more than letting him do his work, about the rent that was almost a month overdue.

No, the man wrote about the life he wished that he had. Daring adventures, lost treasures, evil dragons, and maybe a little man. Yes, a little man with a better life than his own. A comfortable life, with fresh food always on the table, a nice fire always roaring, and the freedom to do as he pleased. Yes, this was the life that young Bilbo Baggins wrote of.

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**Ok, sorry for terrible writing skills and insane OOCness of this... first Hobbit fic. Review's appreciated, good or bad!**


	2. Chapter 1

The next morning, Bilbo woke up early, as per usual. He got dressed, grabbed his wallet and umbrella, and left, not having to bother with anything else where he was going. He ran through the rain that was still pouring down on the streets. He waited at the bus stop, shaking a few coins into the fair slot before choosing a seat at the back.

He put in some headphones and pulled out the notebook he always kept with him. He listened again to the song he had been working on the night before, thankful that he had recorded it for himself to figure what was wrong with it. He focused on the sound a few times, before scribbling in the book for the rest of the half hour ride.

Bilbo got out at his stop and raced the three blocks to the building he worked in. "Aero's Literature" was a small shop, quaint and homely looking, unlike Aero's herself. A husky woman, she had unkempt black locks and small, beady eyes. Her hands were rough and calloused, and Bilbo had to take care of customers because the woman barely spoke any English! She would simply walk around the store, yelling for her poor employee in fluent German, not caring about the customers she sent running out the door.

The place was so small that other than Aero herself, Bilbo was the only one to work there. Not many people in a city like this cared too much about paperbacks, and Aero's had a bad reputation. So most of the time Bilbo spent organizing books or writing on his own. He took a quick lunch break, wiping mustard off on the inside of his tattered jacket as he ran to catch the afternoon shift.

* * *

It didn't take too long for Fili and Kili to track down the small man. Employee listings said that he had been employed at a small bookshop for almost three years. It wasn't a popular place, and no one in the group had ever been there, even Ori the bookworm.

They decided that Fili and Kili would approach him. They were the friendliest, however mischievous they were. Once the two were packed up and gone with the business cards in hand, Thorin waited until the other had dispersed as well, most going home in the dreadful weather.

Once he was alone, Thorin studied the website again. The same smile shined up from the screen. 'Annoying' was the only word that came to Thorin's mind when it came to anything about the man except his music. Thorin stared at the overly happy picture, wondering just how much worse he was going to be in person.

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**Sorry both are so short, but im hoping that I can make up for that by updating often! Reviews appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 2

Bilbo sat in the corner of the shop on a leather stool. The counter ran in front of him, the radio sitting there quietly playing a song he didn't recognize. He doodled on the pad of paper in front of him, glancing at the clock every few minutes. Ten minutes to closing time.

Five minutes later, a pretty nice dragon was coming along on the paper when the bell sounded. Bilbo looked up, and was surprised to see two young men, no older than him. One was slightly shorter than the other, with long blond hair pulled into a ponytail and the startings of a beard. The taller was clean shaven, with messy dark hair and mischievous dark eyes. The two were hardly the image of regular customers around here.

The men looked around for a second, the blond walking forward to pick up a book, while the other locked his eyes with Bilbo. He smiled a little and nudged the shorter, both approaching the counter.

"Hello there!" the blond said cheerfully, while the brunette looked him over. The skeptical gaze was enough to make Bilbo wish that the two men would just leave.

Of course, he couldn't tell them that.

"Hello. Can I help you find something?"

"That depends," the brunette said, glancing at the other. The two had a certain resemblance, and Bilbo deducted that they must be brothers.

"Depends on what, exactly?" Bilbo asked.

"We're looking for some help, actually."

"Help? With what?" Bilbo was getting a little annoyed at this point.

The blond looked straight at him. "Are you Bilbo Baggins?"

Bilbo's eyes widened. What were these two doing looking for him?

Before he could answer, the brunette scoffed. "Of course he is Fili! Look at him!"

Bilbo was more than a little confused now. "I'm sorry but, do I happen to know either of you?"

The blond, Fili, smiled. "Not yet! But we intend to change that!"

"You see, were a part of this band-"

"Durin's Heirs-"

"Maybe you've heard of us-"

"Almost everyone has-"

"And you see, our songwriter-"

"He decided that we weren't good enough for him-"

"Stupid git-"

"So we're in a bit of a tight spot-"

"And we were looking online for a new writer-"

"And your face popped up-"

"So we went through your material-"

"And the whole band thought you were great-"

"Well, almost the whole band-"

"Yes, but he's not important right now-"

"You see-"

"What we were wondering was-"

"If you were interested in the job!"

Bilbo could feel a kink forming in his neck from looking back and forth between the two, and his head was starting to hurt from trying to figure out what they were saying. He sat for a minute focusing on what had happened, before he realized what they had asked him.

"Wait," he asked slowly. "You two want me to write songs for your band?"

The brunette rolled his eyes dramatically. "Yes!"

Bilbo looked between the two one more time. "You're serious?"

Fili spoke. "Bilbo, you don't have to decide now."

"In fact," the brunette added. "We were planning to play you a song before you decided."

Fili looked at the other. "We were?"

"Yes. We were." He glared at his brother. "So," he said, turning back to the still stunned man in front of him. He laid a business card on the counter and turned to walk away. "Stop by that address tomorrow afternoon. We'll be waiting!"

The brunette walked out, quickly followed by the blond. Bilbo looked at the card. It was professional, all right. Durin's Heirs was written on the front in a crazy font with splashes of paint around it. A phone number and an address were printed on the back, along with the manager's name and number.

Bilbo glanced at the clock again. The entire encounter had taken five minutes. Bilbo hopped off the stool and ran to tell Aero that he would be taking tomorrow afternoon off.

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**Sorry these are so short, im not good at writing for extended periods of time. Bilbo meets Thorin next chapter! Reviews appreciated! X3**


	4. Chapter 3

Bilbo got lost three times, almost got hit by a car twice, and had almost gotten hit by a falling paint can by the time he found the right building. It was posh, the kind of building that you see when you go to meet CEO's and movie stars. It had a bored looking receptionist, probably in her late twenties. She had enough makeup to look like a street performer, and her purple gum snapped out of her mouth as she twisted a strand of platinum hair around her finger and regarded Bilbo with an almost hostile expression.

"Umm…" Bilbo said, not quite sure what to say. "I'm looking for Durin's Heirs."

"The band isn't seeing any fans, interviewers, or media personnel at this time. If you wish to make an appointment, you can leave your name with me and I'll pass it on." She said in a monotone voice that suggested that she had had this particular conversation one too many times.

"Actually, I was invited here by the band…" he trailed off, hoping that the girl would just let him up.

"The band isn't seeing any fans, interviewers, or media person-"

"Yes I understand that," Bilbo cut in quickly, not wanting to listen to it again.

The girl was about to speak again when the phone rang. She answered it, listening for a moment before looking Bilbo up and down. She took the receiver away from her mouth. "What's your name?"

"Bilbo," he said. "Bilbo Baggins."

"He's on his way." She said into the phone, before putting it down. "28th floor, elevators around the corner."  
"Thank you," he said as he practically ran away from the desk. He heard a muttered "they don't pay me enough for this" as he rounded the corner.

The elevator got to the 28th floor surprisingly fast, opening with a swish, and leading Bilbo into a scarcely furnished, yet not quite empty room. There was black carpeting, somehow not clashing with the white wall. A few black and white leather armchairs were in the corner, and a desk was against the wall to the left of the elevator.

A young man sat there, his blonde hair pulled back from his face into a bun at the back of his neck. He had slightly startling blue eyes and a soft, almost childish face. He was hunched over the desk, a sketchbook spread out underneath his hands. He jumped and looked up when the doors opened, and he quickly stood up.

"Y-you must be Mr. Baggins!" the young man said, his stutter barely audible as he thrust out his hand to greet Bilbo. He was considerably more cheerful that the receptionist downstairs.

"Yes, but please, call me Bilbo." He shook the offered hand. "And you are?"

"Ori, at your service. Please, this way. The guys are r-really excited to meet you!"

He ran off, leaving Bilbo to jog after him, wonder what he meant. Excited about meeting him?

They ran through a few hallways, passing a fair number of doors, before Ori stopped and opened one. "Hey guys! G-guess who's here!"

Ori stepped in and motioned Bilbo to follow. Bilbo entered to find a good sized group of men staring back at him.

On the right was a rather larger skinhead, black tattoo's slipping down past his collar and leading to rather dark, beady eyes. Next to him was an older man with streaks of white in his gray hair. The color probably wasn't natural though, as the man was maybe forty.

In the middle were a few others, a cheerful man with brown pigtails and a flap hat, a ruggish looking man, with a nasty scar curving up into his hairline, a rather large man with a slew of orange hair. A graying man with round glasses, another redheaded man with rather pointy hair, a pair of twins, one with a long brown beard, the other with a long blonde one. Behind them, sitting in a pair of chairs, were the two young men from the day before.

The brunette stood, offering a hand to Bilbo. "I don't believe I introduced myself yesterday! Kili Durin."

"Bilbo, a pleasure," unsure of what to do with himself, Bilbo stood there awkwardly, playing with the end of his sleeve.

The others had just introduced themselves when there was a sound behind Bilbo. He turned around, and was greeted by a sight he never thought he'd see again.

* * *

**Wow, this took me forever! Sorry, bout that! And I kind of came up with the plot twisty thing at the end while I was writing it, so the next one might take a while, hopefully not as long as this one though! Thank you guys for the support! X3**


	5. Chapter 4

**Heh, wow, 2 and a half month cliff hanger! Sorry about that guys, but i will try to get to the next one faster! Hope you like!**

* * *

Bilbo turned around, meeting a pair of storm blue eyes. He stared at the man before him, who slowly flushed slightly, and looked down.

"Bilbo," he heard the man say, the same gruff voice he remembered. He had heard that voice many times before, when it was excited, depressed, drunk, hoarse from singing, he remembered it well. He even remembered the tone it held now. He had heard it a few times, when Thorin had broken his favorite china, when he had ditched him to go on a date, leaving him to wait for two hours in the restaurant, when he had opened the windows and let the report that Bilbo had worked on for five hours to get blow out with the wind, never to be seen again.

It was the tone where he knew that he had done something wrong, and wanted forgiveness.

Bilbo continued to stare for a while longer, before blinking once, and again. He felt Balin's hand on his shoulder and jumped slightly, turning around to face him. "Are you alright lad?" he asked, looking at Bilbo with polite concern.

Bilbo flushed and stammered, still a little overwhelmed. He looked back to Thorin. He needed to do something. He knew that. Part of him wanted to yell at Thorin. To scream and rage at him for what he had done. Part of him wanted to hurt the man, embarrass him in front of his friends with the tale of what had happened. And then, an even greater part wanted to forgive him instantly, to throw himself into Thorin's arms and forgive him for everything. But he knew he couldn't do any of those things.

So he turned away, looking back to Balin, and the hand that was still on his shoulder. "I-" he croaked, then flushed deeper and cleared his throat. "I just don't think this will work out." He nodded slightly to the group, and stepped around the big man in the doorway without so much as a glance. Before they knew it, they were all looking at an empty hallway, and listening to the sound of the door at the end of the hall closing behind the songwriter.

Bilbo walked hurriedly out of the elevator when it finally hit the first floor. He practically ran out of the lobby and into the street, earning him a distasteful glance from the receptionist. He ran down the road, quickly calling a cab, and looking back as he got in. He was just in time to see two figures, a blonde and a brunette, running out of the building after him. The brunette caught sight of him and shouted, both of them taking off down the road.

Bilbo slammed the door shut and quickly called out the address of his apartment building, the driver hitting the gas just as the two pursuers were almost level with them. Bilbo looked back once, seeing them stop, the brunette holding up his arms in defeat, and the blonde smack himself in the face.

* * *

Bilbo sighed and slumped down in his seat. He sniffled, before realizing that he was indeed crying. He growled, angrily rubbing his face to rid himself of the tears. The cab arrived at the building, and Bilbo paid the driver before walking slowly up to his apartment, and flopping face down on the couch.

* * *

"What the bloody hell was that?!"

The whole group was a mad house when they realized what had just happened. Fili and Kili took off out the door to try and catch Bilbo, Balin stood watching out the window, and the rest of them were just dumbfounded. Thorin, however, was simply staring at the ground.

"What happened Thorin," a gruff voice asked. Thorin looked up to see Dwalin looking at him, quickly followed by the rest of them. Thorin tried to shake his head, but Dwalin wouldn't have it. "Come off it! The lad see's you, and suddenly he a silent wreck!" Thorin involuntarily flinched.

Just then, the two youngest made their ways back into the room, defeated. "We almost had him, but the cab got there just before we did." Fili sighed.

Dwalin turned back on Thorin, raising an eyebrow.

Thorin sighed. "I'm not getting out of this one, am I?"

The tattooed man shook his head. Thorin looked around at the expectant faces of the band, sighed again, and started talking.

* * *

**Wow, this sucked. Anyways thanks to the guys who reviewed, you're the one's that make me actually want to continue this story at all so ya! Love you all! The next chapter will have the story behind how Bilbo and Thorin know each other. Bad me, nother cliffhanger. K, well, l8r guys!**


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